Stateside with Cynthia Canty

Monday through Thursday @ 3:00 p.m. & 10 p.m.

Conversations about what matters in Michigan.

Stateside with Cynthia Canty covers a wide range of Michigan news and policy issues — as well as culture and lifestyle stories. In keeping with Michigan Radio’s broad coverage across southern Michigan, Stateside with Cynthia Canty focuses on topics and events that matter to people all across the state.

The following is a summary of a previously recorded interview. To hear the complete segment, click the audio above.

The amount of international students from China who have enrolled at Michigan State University is 385 times greater than it was a decade ago.

How does this impact instate students applying to schools like MSU and the University of Michigan? How big of a factor does out-of-state tuition play in an institution's decision to accept more non-Michigan or international students?

Michigan writer Ron French wondered, "is a student from China taking my kid's college slot?" His story appeared in today's issue of Bridge, from the Center for Michigan.

On today's show, as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra tops off its Beethoven Festival, we'll speak with the Orchestra's Music Director Maestro Leonard Slatkin. And, as temperatures continue to remain below freezing, we'll speak to the instructor of the "Becoming an Outdoor's Woman" event, being held this weekend in the Upper Peninsula.

But first on today's show, Governor Rick Snyder met with reporters in downtown Detroit today answering questions about the report he got from a state financial review team. Nobody was particularly surprised when, earlier this week, that review team announced Detroit is in a state of financial emergency and that its current leaders "lack a plan" to deal with it.

Even as Mayor Dave Bing protests that a host of roadblocks have kept his plan from being put into place, most Detroiters and Detroit-watchers are now resigned to the fact that it's likely a matter of when, not whether, Governor Snyder will appoint an emergency manager for the city.

Cyndy spoke with Karen Dumas. She is watching these developments with intense interest and insight. She grew up in Detroit has worked in Detroit. She is the former Chief of Communications for Mayor Dave Bing and the City of Detroit.

The following is a summary of a previously recorded interview. To hear the complete segment, click the audio above.

Governor Rick Snyder met with reporters in downtown Detroit on Thursday to discuss the report he received from a state financial review team earlier this week.

The report announced that Detroit is in a state of financial emergency and that the city's current leaders "lack a plan" to deal with it. Mayor Dave Bing's insisted that he did have a plan, but numerous obstacles made it difficult to put it in place.

Now, Detroit residents and those who have been following the crisis are merely waiting for Governor Snyder to appoint an emergency manager.

Karen Dumas, a native Detroiter, is the former Chief of Communications for Mayor Dave Bing and the City of Detroit. Dumas has worked at Detroit's City Hall over the past decade, and is closely following the process.

Michigan Radio's Cynthia Canty spoke with Dumas about Detroit's state of financial emergency and the upcoming process the city will undergo.

James Duderstadt,a former president of the University of Michigan, is an important voice in the national conversation among higher education institutions. Mr. Duderstadt currently serves on the National Academies Commission on the Future of the American Research University.

A new report is out today about how you think we can move the economy forward.

We'll find out more on today's show, and we'll speak to a former University President who says universities themselves might be contributing to some of the economic crunch they're facing.

But in the first part of our show, we turn to the question of just how much support the state of Michigan should give to the film industry and filmmakers.

Governor Snyder's recent budget proposal contained $25 million in tax credits for film makers. That's a 50 percent cut from the present film credit cap of $50 million, and some lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, a fellow Republican, say that is one bad plan that he says will drive the film industry out of Michigan.

The Mayor of Flint says it's time to say goodbye to its emergency manager and make Flint the first city in Michigan to have a transition team appointed under the new emergency manager law, a team that would guide Flint back to being run by its mayor and city council

That was one of the key messages as Flint Mayor Dayne Walling delivered his State of the City message last night - his fourth State of the City address.

Mayor Dayne Walling joined us from Flint. You can listen to our interview with him above.

On today's show, medical marijuana dispensaries - we spoke with a Republican lawmaker who wants local communities to decide whether or not dispensaries should be allowed.

And demographer Kurt Metzger has crunched the numbers and says Michigan is in the middle of an "anti-baby-boom." We'll find out what this means for us as a state.

But first, we spoke with the Mayor of Flint who says it's time to say goodbye to its emergency manager, and make Flint the first city in Michigan to have a transition team appointed under the new emergency manager law, a team that would guide Flint back to being run by its mayor and city council.

That was one of the key messages as Flint Mayor Dayne Walling delivered his State of the City message last night. It was his fourth State of the City address.

The state has kicked off a new, one-year study to find out if Michigan is on track to meet it's benchmark of getting 10 percent of it's energy from renewable sources by 2015.

On today's show, we take a look at the state of renewable energy in Michigan.

And the subject of minimum wage is on the front burner these days, both nationally, and in Lansing.

President Obama announced in his State of the Union address that he wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour, and there's a proposal afoot in Lansing to boost the state minimum wage to $10 an hour. MPRN's Lansing reporter Jake Neher and MSU's Charley Ballard talk with us about minimum wage in Michigan.

State Representative Mike Callton, a Republican from Nashville in Southwest Michigan is sponsoring a bill that would let local communities decide whether or not to allow medical marijuana dispensaries.

His House Bill 4271 is being called "The dispensing bill".

State Representative Mike Callton joined us over the phone to tell us more about the bill and why he is supporting it.

The following is a summary of a previously recorded interview. To hear the complete segment, click the audio above.

Almost everyone who goes online and searches for some bit of information knows about Wikipedia.

For a lot of us it is a great way to answer trivia questions, or settle those friendly arguments among friends over any topic.

But this free encyclopedia that anyone can edit has not been widely accepted in the world of academia. Largely because it is a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

In recent years, Wikipedia has gained a new respectability in the world of academia and cultural institutions.

Why is this, and what might it mean in bringing the treasures of those cultural institutions to a wider audience?

We sat down with Professor Cliff Lampe from the School of Information at the University of Michigan and Michael Barerra, who became one of the first "Wikipedians" in residence at the Gerald R. Ford Library.

They told us what this means for the way we gather information in the digital age.

The following is a summary of a previously recorded interview. To hear the complete segment, click the audio above.

The subject of minimum wage is on the front burner these days nationally, and in Lansing.

President Obama announced in his State of the Union address that he wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour.

And now, there's a proposal afoot in Lansing to boost the state minimum wage to $10 an hour.

We had MPRN's Jake Neher and Michigan State University economics professor Charley Ballard tell us just what would the impact be on Michigan's economy, its businesses and its workers, if the minimum wage was boosted.

Universities across the country are opening up campus housing to transgender students and it's happening right here in Michigan.

The University of Michigan housing has announced it will set aside a block of gender neutral rooms for transgender and gender non-conforming students in the fall of 2013, as a part of the gender inclusive living experience.

We speak with Amy Navvab, a student at the University of Michigan and Chair of the Open Housing Initiative, and Amanda Hobson, Residential Coordinator at Ohio University where gender neutral housing is already available to students.

Last night, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing reaffirmed the city’s financial troubles, outlined some of the ways his administration has worked to cut costs and still maintain basic city services and introduced programs to demolish the Brewster projects and establish a Detroit Blight Authority.

The Mayor said the story of Detroit is not all doom and gloom and quote, "we can’t – we won’t give up on our city," he said.

Mayor Bing joined us today.

And we talked with Michigan Radio's Detroit reporter Sarah Cwiek about Bing and his speech.

Last night Detroit Mayor Dave Bing reaffirmed the city’s financial troubles, outlined some of the ways his administration has worked to cut costs and still maintain basic city services. He introduced programs to demolish the Brewster housing project and establish a Detroit Blight Authority. The Mayor said the story of Detroit is not all doom and gloom and quote, “We can’t – we won’t give up on our city.”

And universities across the country are opening up campus housing to transgender students and it's happening right here in Michigan. We'll talk about gender inclusive campus housing.

And, we'll be talking with Marvin Gaye's little sister about a stage performance on his life.

Lester Graham fills in for Cyndy. He talks the "State of the Union" and global warming with Donald Scavia,Donald Scavia is the Director of the University of Michigan Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute.

And he talks "State of the City" of Detroit with Daniel Howes of the Detroit News, and Michigan Radio political analyst Jack Lessenberry.

Today on Stateside, Lester Graham fills in for Cyndy. He talks the "State of the Union" and the "State of the City" of Detroit with Daniel Howes of the Detroit News, and Michigan Radio political analyst Jack Lessenberry.

Also, yesterday we talked to a policy expert, a teacher educator and a high school principal about how to hold teachers accountable and get them better prepared for the classroom. Today, we talk to a "Teacher of the Year" finalist about education in Michigan.

And, dog sledding in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Get ready for the UP 200!